 | Wars in the World |
Daily News on Wars in the World and on New States
| FOLLOW US ON: FACEBOOK X FLIPBOARD TELEGRAM |
At least 18 combatants have been killed in battles between Yemeni government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the country’s southwest, two military officials told AFP on Thursday.
The clashes on Wednesday were triggered by a Houthi attack on a frontline area between government-controlled parts of Lahij governorate and Houthi-run parts of Taez province, said Mohammed al-Naqib, a spokesperson for the Southern Transitional Council, a separatist group allied with the government.
Guyana said it’s intensifying security measures and engaging the US military to help it protect the oil-rich region of Essequibo, describing Venezuela’s intentions to grant oil exploration licenses in the area as a threat to its territorial integrity.
The United Nations Security Council plans to hold a closed-door meeting on the issue Friday, according to two people familiar with the matter. Both sides will have the chance to speak before the council’s 15 members. Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said in an earlier statement that his country had asked the Security Council to take appropriate action, but no immediate decision is expected at this point, according to the people.
Hamas says it has launched a “big” rocket attack at the Tel Aviv area in central Israel, several of which were intercepted by air defence systems, according to the Israeli military.
Hours later, an aid agency said dozens of people had been killed and injured in an Israeli air strike on an area of Rafah, in southern Gaza, which had reportedly been designated a humanitarian zone by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Troops went on the offensive on Wednesday against M23 rebel positions in DR Congo’s east, the army announced, as residents reported fighting on several fronts in North Kivu province.
Backed by “wazalendo” or patriotic militia, the army “launched the offensives early this morning May 22,” said FARDC spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Guillaume Ndjike on X, formerly Twitter.
Armed clashes occurred overnight in New Caledonia, a French overseas territory. This was reported by High Commissioner Louis Le Franc, the representative of the Paris government, during a press conference.
“Large caliber weapons, hunting rifles, were used to shoot at the gendarmes,” said Le Franc, according to whom “there were no deaths”.
